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Tag Archives: Touring

When faced with something new, we tend to react in one of two ways: we can embrace the change in a curious manner and learn about it, or we can turn our back on it and rationalize our fear of something we don’t understand.

Last fall, I blogged about the lack of continuity of bike lanes in Kitchener-Waterloo. Specifically, the lack of safe crossings of the Conestoga Parkway. I realize these things take time and money to implement, and I hope that the cities and region are moving towards better connectivity for cyclists.

Each year, I try to enter a cycling event or two that supports a cause. In 2016, I raised money for two events: Share the Road Greg’s Ride in September and the Ride for Heart in Toronto for the Heart and Stroke Foundation. My wife, my daughter and I have completed three of the Ride for Heart events, and we have signed up to ride it again this June.

Another ride on my wish list for 2016 was to ride along the trail in Niagara Falls. I’ve been there many times, but hadn’t ridden the trail from Niagara-on-the-Lake before. So with the kiddo away for the weekend, J. and I decided to drive down to Niagara and check out the path.

One of the rides that has been in the back of my mind since I dreamed up this 50-in-50 idea was my first double-metric century, or 200 km. My previous longest ride was last year when a group rode down to Port Dover, had lunch by the beach and rode back. I figured I could do 200 km if I just rode at my own pace. My friend Tim K. had also suggested we should do a Pie-athlon, with stops at bakeries along the way, so I though… why not combine the two?

Leading up to my week-long vacation in Cape Cod, I debated over which bike to bring with me. For a while, I’d settled on my fat bike, so I could ride on the sand at low tide and still ride the singletrack and rail trail. Then I thought my cyclocross bike would be best for the rail trail and some easier singletrack. I finally settled on my mountain bike, which ended up being a good choice because it allowed me to explore singletrack and ride on road and paved rail trails without being quite as slow and heavy as my fat bike. Continue reading →